Man builds Viking ship from 15 million wooden sticks.
.jpg) | | | Photo by: Peter Dejong/Associated Press | | The Viking ice cream boat sets off out of Amsterdam Harbor | | |
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American Robert McDonald, now living in the Netherlands and a nine person crew are attempting to cruise from the Netherlands to London in a boat made completely out of ice cream sticks.
The 50 foot boat, modeled after an ancient Viking ship, was built using 15 million ice cream sticks and an estimated 2.2 tons of glue, took years to complete. The boat has been reinforced with fiberglass and can be propelled with a modern mast and sails, oars or a backup motor.
Mcdonald said his wife inspired him to create a vessel made out of ice cream sticks after she continuously complained that his son was leaving too many of the wooden treat sticks lying around the house. So, instead of throwing them away, he set out to create something unique.
Local children and the ice cream maker Ola provided the sticks for the build. However, the cold treats company backed out of its sponsorship because of the fears about the challenges of a long sea voyage.
Shortly before launch, Mcdonald and his son, equipped with a Viking helmet and sword, added a ceremonial ice cream stick made entirely of gold. Mcdonald said he wants to be an example that anything is possible with a little perseverance.
“I have a dream to show children they can do anything,” McDonald told the Associated Press. “If they can dream it, they can do it.”
This is not the first ice cream boat Mcdonald has created. In 2003, he set a Guiness World Record with a smaller version of a Viking ship built from 370,000 ice cream sticks.
This article first appeared in the April 2008 issue of The Log Newspaper. All or parts of the information contained in this article might be outdated. |
